Garden Notes

Those digger bees proved a little more difficult to get rid of than we’d thought. They stayed away just long enough for us to get most of the herbs planted. However, when I returned to add a few more plants, they were back! They just moved their entrance to a new ground hole. There weren’t as many of them as before and it became a battle of wills as I sat, armed with a can of insecticide while Kim darted in, planted one pot, and darted away until the little stingers settled down again.

Unfortunately, I am not a very good shot and it is reasonable to expect that most of the bees lived to fight another day. I am thankful that they are not very aggressive. Although, they buzzed loudly and threatened us, they didn’t manage to sting us – and, I think they could have if they’d tried. I’m not sure how I will manage to harvest my herbs, now that they are planted. They are best when cut early in the morning so, perhaps, I can get out there before the diggers wake up.

The rest of the garden is doing fairly well. The peas were prolific and Kim has already pulled the vines. She picked several quarts of green beans last week and more are waiting on the bushes. Our cucumbers seem to be ballooning from the size of your thumb to eight inches long over night. And, of course, the zucchini is behaving like zucchini – we can’t give them away fast enough!

The tomato vines are full of promising, green tomatoes and Kim can barely wait to dig the first potatoes. She picked six ears of sweet corn Thursday evening. They weren’t quite ready, but she could wait no longer (even slightly green, they were delicious). The raccoons had already been into it and damaged a few ears; Bob strung electric fencing around the perimeter. It worked well last year and we’re hoping they haven’t figured out how to thwart it this year.

The heat was too much for our lettuce and we think heat and heavy rains are to blame for a poor cabbage crop. We picked several heads of purple cabbage (they were a bit small, but tasted good); but the green cabbage didn’t head up the way it should have and the outer leaves began to rot before it was very large. If we decide we want more than we were able to salvage, we will make a late planting for fall harvest. I’d like to plant some Brussels sprouts for a fall crop; however, since I am the only one who likes them, I may not bother.

Kim has baby watermelons on her vines and her blackberries are nearly ready to pick. We’ve already made some pickles and we will be making jelly soon. Bob’s aunt Pat gave us a tub full of black raspberries and we will have red raspberries in the fall. Whoever said that summertime was “easy” didn’t do much food preservation!

I’ve included my recipe for freezer slaw, this week. I like it because it is versatile – works with red or green cabbage, and you can use the thawed slaw as is or drain it and add shredded carrots along with a creamy dressing, or you can cook it as sweet and sour cabbage.

Leona’s Freezer Slaw

Shred cabbage (any color or mixed) into a large glass or stainless steel bowl until you have about two to three quarts. In a non-aluminum saucepan, heat one cup of vinegar (I like to use cider vinegar, but any kind with at least five percent acidity will do) and one and a half cups sugar to boiling. Pour hot liquid over cabbage; stir until well mixed. Let stand five minutes or until cool enough to handle. If you are doing a large batch, you will need to double the recipe; however, I have found that it doesn’t take as much as I think it will and I can reheat and reuse the liquid on a second batch if I keep it in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for a short period of time. Use a large spoon to pack the slaw (with some of the liquid) into freezer containers. Freeze immediately.

Blend together until sugar is dissolved. If too thin, add more Miracle Whip. Taste for sweetness and add sugar if needed. Pour over slaw.

To make Sweet and Sour Cabbage: Thaw and drain 1/2 c. liquid (reserve for thickening). If there is a lot of liquid, you may want to drain some of it off; otherwise, cook the cabbage over medium heat until steaming. Stir one T. cornstarch into reserved, cold liquid. When dissolved, add to hot cabbage. Stir until thickened.

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The oldest profession isn’t what you think it is – Adam and Eve were gardeners.